Bengaluru: Terming the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) unconstitutional, a section of legal experts on Saturday claimed the National Population Register (NPR) is a prelude to the controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC) and that both would have serious repercussions on citizens.

In his keynote address, former Supreme Court judge V Gopala Gowda said CAA, which seeks to confer citizenship upon people belonging to six minority religions in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, is a blatant violation of the Constitution. "It is inexplicable as to why similarly placed people as well as non-religious groups in other countries have been left out, including about 88 lakh Tamils in Sri Lanka and Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar,” he said.

Regarding NPR, Justice Gowda said since the rules give more power to lower-rung officials, there may chances of crores of people losing out citizenship and being sent to concentration camps on the lines of what has been done in Assam after NCR, owing to whimsical action of officials.

Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan opined that institutions formed under the Constitution, right from Election Commission, CAG and even the judiciary, are either being attacked or taken over. According to him, under NPR, an individual is put at the mercy of local officials and based on the remarks which say “doubtful citizen”, he or she can even lose citizenship.